We often host volunteers to help us at Uralla and offer clean, basic accommodation. It is fully self contained and all meals are provided.

We offer hands-on experience assisting us with the wildlife currently being cared for and rehabilitated at the sanctuary.

Part of the Volunteers’ duties are:

Assist with feeding and caring for all wildlife plus other domestic animals including goats, sheep, rabbits and various poultry.

Fill feed bins and water troughs

Prepare specialised milk formula and food and wash all feed bottles and bowls

General household duties

Cleaning of chicken yard, collect eggs

Washing of soiled animal bedding.

If any spare time gardening and painting

Walk the dingoes and interact with them on a daily basis.

Give plenty of cuddles to joeys

Our day starts at 6:30am and last feed time is at 10:30 pm at night.

If we have very small joeys they have to be toileted after each feed. This entails gently rubbing their cloaca (bottom) with toilet paper until they wee & poo. Sometimes this can be a bit messy for the inexperienced but it is an essential part of looking after them.

In return for all of this you can waste hours watching the joeys playing together or observing the interactions of the older kangaroos, so while there is always plenty of jobs to do there is also plenty of enjoyment to be had.

The Work:

Your work (although most volunteers don’t see it as work!) will mainly involve caring for and feeding orphaned or injured kangaroos of various ages together with the other animals, as well as assisting with the rehabilitation programs of the older or injured animals. Other work, depending on your abilities and time available, consists of general housework, gardening and any property maintenance or building projects that John may be working on. You may have other non-animal-related skills that could greatly assist the sanctuary, so don’t be afraid to offer assistance in any capacity.

Our day starts at 6:30am for everybody, and depending on whether you have any baby animals to care for, usually ends at about 10.30pm. The amount of care required for the animals varies depending on the species and the time of year and the work generally revolves around joey feeding times BUT they always need lots of love and attention and you will have plenty of spare time to really get to know the amazing animals you help to care for, including walking our dingoes and dogs, Jackie, Kody, Missy each day.

Expectations:

Work:We expect every volunteer to participate in all areas of work as an integral part of the team. Having said that, you may find certain tasks are allocated to one or two volunteers for the sake of efficiency. If you have a particular desire to be allocated a certain task or work with a particular animal, feel free to ask Mandy.
The dingoes and the dog, Jackie, require daily walks which can be slotted in between joey feeding times and organised amongst the volunteers.
We are all here for the good of the animals and we encourage you to spend lots of time with them. This is essential for their happiness and well-being.

Cleanliness:We do not enter your bedrooms during your stay, so we expect them to be kept clean, tidy and aired.
It is also everyone’s responsibility to keep the volunteer house clean and tidy at all times.

Cooking:Dinner is generally cooked by Mandy, but you are of course welcome to do some cooking. If Mandy is working nights (as a nurse at Mt Barker hospital), John will cook (unless there is a willing volunteer!).

Washing dishes:You will need to wash your own breakfast and lunch dishes, and volunteers will need to co-ordinate a roster system for washing and drying the dinner dishes.

Computer:Please remember that others will also want to use the computer. Also be aware that the internet connection is slow. We do not charge for internet use, however it must be limited to emails, Facebook, etc. and we ask that you do not download images or videos or anything else that requires a great deal of data usage.

We look forward to spending time with you hope that you enjoy your stay as much as we will enjoy having you!

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Testimonials

We're having a great time and Mandy and John are the best! We love the roos and all the other animals and hopefully we are able to come back after our Oz trip.
Mandy & John, thank you very much:-)